The Navy has successfully tested a laser weapon, with a warship successfully crippling a smaller boat by burning through its engine and igniting it. The test, conducted by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), is an important step toward mounting high-energy lasers on ships as weapons.

Wednesday's test saw the USS Paul Foster take aim at a motoboat and then hit it with a 15-kilowatt (kW) pulse from a solid-state high-energy laser (HEL). Despite four-foot waves and high humidity (which can degrade laser output), the laser managed to hit the boat's engine and ignite it (see video of the test below).

"This is the first time a HEL, at these power levels, has been put on a Navy ship, powered from that ship, and used to defeat a target in a maritime environment," says Peter Morrison, program officer at the ONR, in a press release. "We are learning a ton from this program—how to integrate and work with directed energy weapons."

Such ship-mounted laser cannons could be helpful to ships in situations that require more finesse than today's armaments allow. While typical explosive munitions can be messy and possibly more destructive than necessary, a laser has the advantage of precise targeting and more control over the amount of damage. That could be potentially useful when facing small targets like pirates and aircraft.

The HEL will need to be more powerful for it to be truly effective, though, and the goal of the program is to eventually mount lasers on ships with a destructive output of 100 kW. But for larger targets, like opposing navies, there are even more ambitious plans. The Navy is working on a megawatt laser that's intended to cut through an incredible 2,000 feet of steel per second. The first prototype of that monster won't be ready until 2018, the ONR says.

Unlike the solid-state laser in the recent test, the megawatt laser would be a free-electron design, a much more flexible technology. So far, though, the Navy has only demonstrated an electron injector for the design, which is said to be as large as a football field— making it impossible to mount on any vessel smaller than an aircraft carrier.

Ultimately, the ONR says lasers will serve to complement a warships other weapns, not replace them. In addition, entirely new battle tactics will have to be developed for ship captains to use them effectively.

"From a science and technology point of view, the marriage of directed energy and kinetic energy weapon systems opens up a new level of deterrence into scalable options for the commander," says Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Nevin Carr. "There is still much work to do to make sure it's done safely and efficiently."

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believe is false."- William Casey, CIA Director 1981

EspressoDude wrote:spotted a few minutes ago on the Columbia river....new prototype stealth boat

The one that was spotted a few years ago was built for I believe the Israelis at Oregon Iron Works in response to an incident where 7 Navy SEALS were killed trying to do a covert beach landing and when they came out of the water the bad guys were waiting for them.

The first generation, circa 2005, submerges partially and then gets close to the beach. A submerged robot deploys to beach, a periscope pops and scans the beach using optics I don't know about, while the SEALS slip out of the craft and approach the beach underwater. That way, by the time they get there, they've already determined whether there are hostiles or civilians in the vicinity. After they're finished, they can slip back to the craft and egress.

The prototype appeared all over the local media and nobody would talk about it. Last I heard, they moved the water trials for the newer variants to the Hanford stretch of the Columbia far away from prying eyes.

I've also heard that the hottest Delta-approved AR-15 on the market is LWRC, which is piston instead of gas-operated, which means SpecOps can pop up out of the water and shoot without worrying about blowing up their rifle. Plus, you can shoot it a hundred times as much without having to worry about it fouling. LWRC is working on a swappable upper, so the shooter can switch between 5.56 to 7.62 as mission and ammunition dictate.

When I hit a deer on the way to BRC in 2004, I had no weapon to put it down so she died rather horribly. Since then, every time I'm on a road trip there's a pistol or a very large hammer in my van.

"The Red Baron is smart.. He never spends the whole night dancing and drinking root beer.. "-The WWI Flying Ace

EspressoDude wrote:spotted a few minutes ago on the Columbia river....new prototype stealth boat

The one that was spotted a few years ago was built for I believe the Israelis at Oregon Iron Works in response to an incident where 7 Navy SEALS were killed trying to do a covert beach landing and when they came out of the water the bad guys were waiting for them.

The first generation, circa 2005, submerges partially and then gets close to the beach. A submerged robot deploys to beach, a periscope pops and scans the beach using optics I don't know about, while the SEALS slip out of the craft and approach the beach underwater. That way, by the time they get there, they've already determined whether there are hostiles or civilians in the vicinity. After they're finished, they can slip back to the craft and egress.

The prototype appeared all over the local media and nobody would talk about it. Last I heard, they moved the water trials for the newer variants to the Hanford stretch of the Columbia far away from prying eyes.

yep, this one is the same heritage, but looks a bit longer. Didn't know about the submersibility. That would explain the big squares on top as open hatches as opposed to gun mounts OIW is about 2 miles downstream from the picture

EspressoDude wrote:spotted a few minutes ago on the Columbia river....new prototype stealth boat

stealth boat spotted this morning doing speed runs. Passing vehicles on Marine Drive ( Trucks doing about 50 ). Probably not up to full speed yet. Big squirt out the stern on take-off, no squat. At speed wake starts about 1/3 back from bow and jet barely visible.....no doubt can go faster

The Second Amendment right to bear arms is not limited to the home and Maryland’s requirement that residents show a “good and substantial reason” to get a handgun permit is unconstitutional, according to a federal judge’s opinion filed Monday.

“A citizen may not be required to offer a ‘good and substantial reason’ why he should be permitted to exercise his rights,” Legg wrote. “The right’s existence is all the reason he needs.”

The Second Amendment right to bear arms is not limited to the home and Maryland’s requirement that residents show a “good and substantial reason” to get a handgun permit is unconstitutional, according to a federal judge’s opinion filed Monday.

“A citizen may not be required to offer a ‘good and substantial reason’ why he should be permitted to exercise his rights,” Legg wrote. “The right’s existence is all the reason he needs.”

k.

if only...if only.......*tapping ruby slippers together*............if it comes to the PRC...........